Fragging

[oakwell]

Can anyone put any details on here about fragging softies as i have a few to frag.

Was wondering if anyone could help me with some pulsing xenia, mettalic green xenia and other various leathers, advising of best /easiest way to do it?

Also Can anyone help with a specific glue you can use to stick the frags to milliput?

thanks

[Macca]

Depends what you are fragging, But Steve (coral cultivations) uses curtain netting for his pulse corals. I generally think milliput is bset for SPS corals. Ant super glue gel is good for fragging leather etc but ask Steve as this is his line of business.


James

PS I want ALL your frags once your farm is producing :D In return I WILL TAKE YOU TO SEE THE BLADES :D Premiership Football!

[oakwell]

thanks james, however i think i will have to turn down your great offer to see the blades i like see teams win!

[Tangman]

Hi Daz. I found Xenia will migrate on to rocks on it own, i used to pile a load of rubble up the side of my xenia and in a week or 2 it had migrated over to the rubble. Also when i did pusey corals i would put the cutting between 2 pieces of rock and wrap an elastic band around the rocks holding them together. Leathers are quite easy to do if you slice the leather into piece's then stitch it with cotton onto a piece of rock and within a week or so they are attached. HTH. Eric

[Buster]

I have used the cocktail stick method in the past to attach (sp) softies onto rock. works well.

[oakwell]

thanks for the advice.

I have used the cocktail method too for my pussy corals.

will have a go and let you know how its gone.

[Macca]

Ye cocktail sticks are best for the slimey pussey corals but I cannot locate any plastic ones only wood. Anyone help?

James

[oakwell]

whats the best base to frag onto?

i normally use milliput or grotto rock i am right in thinking there are some kind of frag plugs?
anyone got any links to them if i am right?

[Macca]

I can supply frag plugs to fit into egg crate or to stns on their own, cured made from concrete. Just let me know if you want any before I order again in about 3 weeks.

James

PS Will get photos soon

[oakwell]

cheers james will let you know if you can get us some piccys

Also how much are they? and what size approx?


many thanks

[Coral Cultivations]

You can get plastic tooth picks from Boots - they work well as an alternative to cocktail sticks.

Over the last few years I have tried many different ways of attaching frags - here are the methods I have found to be the most effective (and cost effective):-

1) Pulsing Xenias - place cuttings on pieces of net curtain -they attach within days then the pieces of curtain can be cut back and glued onto live rock fragments.

2) Leathers - elastic bands with a piece of polystyrene between the band and the coral to ensure the band does'nt cut into the coral.

3) Carpet Xenias - elastic bands

4) Medusas - plastic tooth pick from the stem, then elastic bands around the stem too

5) Pussey Corals - a real pain! Needle and thread job through the stem and tie down onto the rock. I stopped doing these a long time ago!!

6) Mushrooms - cut into 4 pieces and drop into a small pond plant basket filled with live rock fragments and leave them to it - the perforated basked ensures adequate flow around the animals, but prevents any strong flow whcih would wash them away, ensuring they have time to attach to the rock - maybe not the fastest way of doing them, but it is very effective.

PLEASE NOTE: Tank-established animals frag FAR BETTER than newly imported ones, and the resulting frags will grow much quicker compared to frags taken off newly imported animals. I always hold imported animals for at least a month before even considering fragging them, our main parent animals are all substantial ones that have either outgrown peoples tanks, or are from people who have stripped down systems, ie they have been in customers tanks for years - these are the best animals BY FAR for fragging purposes.

Incidentally, this applies both to soft, lps and sps corals - anyone who has tried fragging a freshly imported Acropora colony will confirm this.....

Steve

[oakwell]

thats a great help steve thanks very much.:)

[Coral Cultivations]

Your welcome

Another species I used to do a lot of are African Blues (just treat as a larger pulsing Xenia). However, the main problem with these (as will ALL imported Xenias and similar species) is that they don't travel well and are very susceptable to ph and alkalinity changes - and the true-blue coloured animals are VERY expensive and rare too!

Steve

[liquidlogic]

cocktail stick method most people favour. also why does the coral go darker colour ?

[Blue]

Sacrophyton, Lobophyton and Sinularia are very easy to frag. You just need a sharp blade to cut fragments off the coral, you should do this in a seperate container as these corals give off toxins. You can then use the cocktail method as mentioned, nylon fishing line or loose elastic bands work well.
Here is a link for a method to show you how.http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=877575
Rgards :)